Combination shoe insert and flat for a heeled shoe and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A combination insert-flat will allow a flat to be compressed to a thin insert which women will wear between their feet and heeled footwear discreetly and Comfortably, wherein the flat will adjust to fit in the high heel. When a wearer of the high heeled footwear desires a change out of the high heels, the person will take off their high heels and conveniently remove the insert-flat at which point they will unfold the insert into a flat. The wearer may place the flat on the user&#39;s feet and have a comfortable flat that will protect their feet from being bare foot.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is related to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/829,140, filed May 30, 2013, entitled “COMBINATION SHOE INSERT AND FLAT FOR HEELED SHOE AND METHOD THEREFOR” in the name of Shone Serletic, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present patent application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application generally relates to a shoe insert, and more specifically, to a shoe insert for high heeled footwear which may be removed by the wearer of the high heeled footwear and transformed into a flat shoe that may be worn to alleviate the pain of having to constantly wear the high heeled footwear all day.

BACKGROUND

Many women like to wear fashionable footwear. Unfortunately, many types of fashionable footwear have a heel. In general, women's heeled footwear are not designed with foot comfort and support as the primary object. Thus, most high heeled footwear are typically uncomfortable to the wearer and may cause discomfort and pain to the wearer. Some high heeled footwear may provide some comfort to the foot of the wearer by providing soft padding inside the footwear. However, the soft padding only provides small comfort.

Due to the pain associated with wearing high heel footwear, many women take off their high heeled footwear. For example, at work, many women may take off their high heeled footwear when they are at the desk since no one can notice. Unfortunately, this only provides temporary relief as they generally need to place the high heel footwear back on if they leave the desk area.

To overcome the above issue, some women may carry extra pairs of shoes to wear after they remove their high heeled footwear. For example, some women may carry a pair of flats or other more comfortable shoes to wear in their purse or other carrying case. These women may change out their high heeled footwear into the flats based on how their feet are feeling.

Unfortunately, the above is troublesome as these women need to carry the extra pair of footwear around all day. Further, many times, women may forget to bring an extra pair of footwear to change into due to their hectic schedules.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a device and method that overcomes the above.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter

In accordance with one embodiment, a shoe insert for use as a flat shoe has a body member formed in a shape of an insole. An opening is formed in the body member to allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member. The opening is folded over so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth when the body member is used as a shoe insert.

in accordance with another embodiment, A shoe insert for use as a flat shoe has a body member to be placed within a shoe. An opening is formed in the body member. The opening is folded over to enclose the opening and to form a substantially smooth top surface of the body member. The opening is unfolded to allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member.

In accordance with another embodiment, a shoe insert for use as a flat shoe has a body member formed in a shape of an insole. The body member is formed of a stretchable cushion material. An opening is formed in the body member. The opening is folded over to enclose the opening and to form a substantially smooth top surface of the body member. The opening is unfolded to allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member. An elastic member is formed around at least a portion of the opening and positioned within the interior of the body member so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth. A sole member is formed on a bottom surface of the body member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The novel features believed to be characteristic of the application are set forth in the appended claims. In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figures can be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The application itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heeled shoe having an insert of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the heeled shoe having an insert of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the insert of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the insert of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the insert of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the insert being used as flats worn by a user; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the insert being used as flats with the foot of the user removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION

The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently preferred embodiments of the application and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present application can be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the application in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences can be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of this application.

The present invention is a combination insert-flat. The combination insert-flat will allow the combination insert-flat to be compressed to a thin profile and positioned between a foot of a wearer of heeled footwear and the heeled footwear discreetly and comfortably, wherein the combination insert-flat will adjust to fit in the heeled footwear. When a wearer of heeled footwear desires a change out of the heeled footwear, the person will take off their heeled footwear and conveniently remove the combination insert-flat from the heeled footwear. At this point, the wearer of the heeled footwear may pull and unfold the combination insert-flat into a flat. The wearer may place the flat on the user's feet and have a comfortable flat that will protect their feet from being bare foot. The combination insert-flats may be disposable such that it may be discarded after use but durable enough to allow the user to wear for extended periods of time.

Referring to the Figures, a combination insert-flat 12 may be placed in heeled footwear 10 is shown. The insert-flat 12 may function as a cushioned pad and non-slip device when positioned in the heeled footwear 10. The insert 12 may be removed from the heeled footwear 10 may be unfolded to allow the insert to be transformed into a flat.

The combination insert-flat 12 may be formed of a body member 14. The body member 14 may be configured to be in a shape of an insole for the heeled footwear 10. The insert 12 may be formed of a stretchable material having sufficient thickness to form a cushioned foot bed when placed in the heeled footwear 10. A material such as a thick nylon or other stretchable fabric material may be used for the body member 14. The above listing is given as an example and should not be seen in a limiting manner. Other materials may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In general, a top surface 16 of the body member 14 is smooth and flat to provide the most comfort when the combination insert-flat 12 is placed in the heeled footwear 10. An opening 20 may be formed in the body member 14. In general, the opening 20 may be folded over so that the top surface 16 of the body member 14 is smooth and flat. In an alternative embodiment, a perforation 18 may be formed on the top surface 16. The perforation 18 may be used to provide an access to the hollow interior section 20 formed within the body member 14.

In general, the hollow interior section 20 allows the body member 14 to slightly compress when a user inserts a foot into the heeled footwear 10 having the combination insert-flat 12. However, the material used to form the combination insert-flat 12 still allows the combination insert-flat 12 to provide cushioned support.

When the insert-flat 12 is unfolded, the opening 20 may be formed in the body member 14. The opening 20 allows a user to insert a foot 22 into the interior section 20 of the body member 14 transforming the combination insert-flat 12 into wearable flat.

Due to the stretchable nature of the material used to form the body member 14, the opening 20 may contract around the foot 22 of the wearer. However, an elastic member 24 may be formed around the opening 22. The elastic member 24 may further contract the opening 20 around the foot 22 of the wearer thereby preventing the combination insert-flat 12 from coming off the foot 22 of the wearer. The elastic member 24 may be positioned in the interior of the opening 22. In this manner, the elastic member 24 may be positioned in the interior section 20 the body member 14 thus keeping the top surface 16 of the body member 14 smooth and flat to provide the most comfort when the insert 12 is placed in the heeled footwear 10.

A sole member 28 may be attached to a bottom surface of the body member 14. The sole member 28 may be formed of slip resistant material. Alternatively, a plurality of nodes 30 may extend down from the body member 14. The nodes 30 may be formed of a rubberized material. This would prevent a wear of the insert-flat 12 from slipping while wearing the insert-flat 12.

One or more ornamental elements 26 may be attached to the body member 14. The ornamental elements 26 may be positioned on the body member 14 so that the top surface 16 of the body member 14 remains smooth and flat to provide the most comfort when the combination insert-flat 12. It should be noted that the ornamental elements 26 may be attached to a front section 14A the body member 14 after the combination insert-flat is removed from the shoe 10. Alternatively, the body member 14 may be formed from materials having printed designs 32 or the like on an exterior surface thereof to provide the combination insert-flat 12 with a more fashionable appearance.

While embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe insert for use as a flat shoe comprising: a body member formed in a shape of an insole; and an opening formed in the body member to allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member, wherein the opening is folded over so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth.
 2. The shoe insert of claim 1, wherein the body member is formed of a stretchable cushion material.
 3. The shoe insert of claim 1, further comprising an elastic member formed around at least a portion of the opening and positioned within the interior of the body member so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth.
 4. The shoe insert of claim 1, further comprising a sole member formed on a bottom surface of the body member.
 5. The shoe insert of claim 4, wherein the sole member is formed of a slip resistant material.
 6. The shoe insert of claim 1, further comprising ornamental elements attached to the body member.
 7. The shoe insert of claim 1, wherein the body member has printed designs on an exterior surface of the body member.
 8. A shoe insert for use as a flat shoe comprising: a body member to be placed within a shoe; and an opening formed in the body member, the opening folded over to enclose the opening and to form a substantially smooth top surface of the body member, the opening being unfolded allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member.
 9. The shoe insert of claim 8, wherein the body member is in a shape of an insole.
 10. The shoe insert of claim 8, wherein the body member is formed of a stretchable cushion material.
 11. The shoe insert of claim 8, further comprising an elastic member formed around at least a portion of the open and positioned within the interior of the body member so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth.
 12. The shoe insert of claim 8, further comprising a sole member formed on a bottom surface of the body member.
 13. The shoe insert of claim 12, further comprising nodes formed on the sole member.
 14. The shoe insert of claim 8, further comprising ornamental elements attached to the body member.
 15. The shoe insert of claim 8, wherein the body member has printed designs on an exterior surface of the body member.
 16. A shoe insert for use as a flat shoe comprising: a body member formed in a shape of an insole, wherein the body member is formed of a stretchable cushion material; an opening formed in the body member, the opening folded over to enclose the opening and to form a substantially smooth top surface of the body member, the opening being unfolded to allow a user to insert a foot into an interior section of the body member; an elastic member formed around at least a portion of the opening and positioned within the interior of the body member so a top surface of the body member is substantially smooth; a sole member formed on a bottom surface of the body member.
 17. The shoe insert of claim 16, wherein the sole member is formed of a slip resistant material.
 18. The shoe insert of claim 16, further comprising ornamental elements attached to the body member.
 19. The shoe insert of claim 16, wherein the body member has printed designs on an exterior surface of the body member. 